Are livery cars being driven out of business?

by Mike Fitelson, Gloria Pazmiño, Debralee Santos

“Why shouldn’t livery cars who have been moving neighbors in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and parts of Manhattan for decades be able to pick up legally  on the street? After all, 97 percent of yellow cab pick-ups happen in Manhattan or at the airports – even though 80 percent of New Yorkers live outside of Manhattan.

Free Columbia University summer athletic camp seeking applications

As part of the recently signed community benefits agreement for developing the area around Baker Field in Inwood, Columbia University has set aside scholarships to attend summer camps for 32 kids aged six to 18 who live in Washington Heights and Inwood.

McFadden Scholarships honor 12 local high school seniors

McFadden Scholarship awardee Benjamin Heuberger was one of 12 McFadden Scholarship winners congratulated by Isabella Geriatric Center President and CEO Mark Kator on Thu., May 12. PHOTO: Mike Fitelson

A dozen local high school seniors are splitting $15,000 for college tuition in the 14^th annual Edward J. McFadden Scholarships, awarded Thu., May 12 at Isabella Geriatric Center on Ft. George Hill.

Con Edison offers rebate to AC buyers

New York City and Westchester County residents are eligible to pocket $30 rebates from Con Edison when they buy Energy Star room air conditioners, the company announced earlier this month.

25 years of beautification

The West 181st Street Beautification Project formed 25 years ago in order to clean up the Pinehurst Avenue step street. They will celebrate their quarter-century anniversary this weekend, May 21 and 22, with cake, coffee, and free potted plants. PHOTO: Mike Fitelson

The horror stories of the urban decay that had engulfed much of Northern Manhattan by the 1980s have been told time and time again. Crime, trash, civic apathy.

Twenty-five years ago the step street where Pinehurst Avenue meets W. 181^st Street was no different, having turned into a de facto dumping ground.

Living el Alto: A Slurpee-filled summer at 7/11

Joshua Roe made a pit stop at the Slurpee machine on his way home from school. He’s happy that a new 7/11 opened on Dyckman Street. PHOTO: Gloria Pazmiño

The Dyckman street corridor that stretches from Seaman Avenue to 10^th Avenue is a bustling commercial hub, no doubt about it. But last week as I walked past the bodegas, trendy nightspots, and accessories stores, I noticed a newcomer garnering quite an audience.

The Wine Pairing Challenge - Mofongo at Malecon

Move over beer: wine officionado Laura Corrigan recommends pairing Malecon’s Mofongo de Chicharron de Cerdo with Terra Andina Chardonnay 2009, Channing Daughters Refosco Rose, 2010, or Felino Cabernet Sauvignon 2008. PHOTO: Laura Corrigan

by Laura Corrigan

Perhaps you’ve had a chance to taste a classic food and wine pairing: Champagne and caviar, Sauvignon Blanc and goat cheese, port and dark chocolate. A successful food and wine pairing can elevate both the wine and the meal, turning your dinner (or lunch or snack) into a heavenly experience. A bad pairing puts a meal out of balance. It can make the food taste strange, bold wines and bold dishes can cancel each other out making both appear mediocre.

Heights on Broadway aims to elevate youth arts at the Palace

The Heights on Broadway program is headed by United Palace creative director Ivan Janer (extreme left) and young community activists seeking to empower neighborhood youth through the arts.

Ivan Janer, the creative director for the new youth program called Heights on Broadway at the United Palace Theater on Broadway at W. 175th Street, hopes to reach students who are “culturally and creatively disconnected from their identity” and provide them with the same quality of performance skills, experience, workshops, and mentorship usually available in prestigious theater schools that few urban youth have access to.

One City, Two Standards

Proposed plans by the City to expand medallion cab service are being challenged by the livery cab industry.

When Mayor Bloomberg raised the issue of making sure that everyone in our city could hail a cab safely and legally, the impetus was to codify into law what had been the practice for decades – providing livery cars the opportunity to hail in the outer boroughs and in neighborhoods where the Manhattan Times and the Bronx Free Press are read. This policy proposal change was clear – to end the two standards in providing taxi services for New Yorkers, one for those who live in certain parts of Manhattan and another for the rest of the city.

"Juan Bobo" - Chapter 1

by Nelson Denis

Chapter 1: HOW JUAN BOBO STOLE WINE FROM A GHOST

The island of Puerto Rico is covered with ghosts. Ponce de León created 5,881 of them when the natives didn’t bring him enough gold,    and he cut off their hands. Hurricane San Ciriaco launched 3,409 of them into the firmament. The 16th Infantry Regiment shot 7,623 of them during the U.S. invasion of 1898. Toño Bicicleta contributed four more when      he beheaded his girlfriend with a machete, shot his uncle, stabbed his stepfather, and strangled some guy named Luis. All of these ghosts are homeless and melancholic. Some of them are still atheists. A few voted in the last presidential election. But none of this mattered to Juan Bobo, as he chased one into the wine cellar.

UC Recap - May 9 - May14

May 9 – May 14

We began the week with a column that I penned on the topic of infidelity as discussed at my quintessentially Dominican barbershop. For the most part, the general consensus among the barbers and the clientele was that women by nature will eventually cheat on their mates so it was better to cheat before she does. In other words, pre-emptive cheating; cheat before getting cheated on. In my humble opinion, pre-emptive cheating like pre-emptive war is a recipe for a disaster but I was not going to voice my opinion and try to convert the convinced.